Substitute King
by allyrwhitney
Summary: Wanting to spend the day with his family, Roland volunteers Cedric to be king for the day. (Takes place a few weeks after "Forever Royal".)


_I only own my ideas._

Substitute King

Roland drummed his fingers on the arm of his throne as he sat deep in contemplation. Today Tilly was throwing a birthday party for their mother at her manor. The rest of the royal family was going to be there. Roland really wanted to be there to celebrate with his family, but the king had some duties to attend to that day. It really wouldn't be a very busy day. All he had scheduled was listening to some of the subjects talk that morning and a meeting later that afternoon. It would be one of those rare easy days. If only there was someone he could trust to run the kingdom in his stead.

Roland grinned as an idea came to him. He turned to Baileywick. "Get Cedric."

...

In his workshop, Cedric was preparing to start his first potion of the day. He was in an unusual good mood. Today his family was coming by the castle for lunch. He hadn't seen his parents since the children's graduation party a few weeks ago. And of course he was looking forward to seeing his sister and niece, though he wouldn't tell Cordelia that.

There was a knock on the door, and Baileywick entered. "Cedric, King Roland wishes to see you."

The sorcerer frowned. "What about?"

"I guess you'll have to come see."

Cedric sighed and followed the steward. He hoped Roland didn't ask too much of him today. True, their friendship had improved greatly over the last few months, especially since Cedric had gotten Sofia out of the amulet a few weeks ago, but sometimes the king's requests could be a bit extravagant. Just the other day during a garden party, he'd asked Cedric to enlarge all the flowers. The result had delighted the princesses. "I feel like I'm in Wonderland," Sofia had said. Then Roland had had his worst idea yet. He asked Cedric to enlarge all the butterflies. The sorcerer shuddered at the memory. He was sure there were still a few giant butterflies fluttering around in the Forest. At least Roland hadn't blamed him for doing what he asked after everything had been shrunken back to normal size.

...

In the throne room, Cedric bowed. "What can I do for you, Your Majesty?"

"Ah, Cedric. Just the one I wanted to see." Roland smiled brightly as he stood from his throne and walked down the steps. He was in a jovial mood, and for some reason that made the sorcerer very nervous. "I have a job for you. How would you like to be... king for the day?"

Cedric's eyes widened in astonishment. "What? Your Majesty..."

"Oh, it will be easy. All you'll have to do is listen to some of the people and attend a meeting this afternoon."

"This is a bad idea, King Roland," Baileywick said.

"Nonsense, Baileywick," Roland clapped him on the shoulder. "I'm sure he can do it."

Just then Sofia walked into the room. "Dad, we're ready to leave. Did you decide if you're coming?"

"Yes, I will be joining you. Cedric is going to stand in as king for the day."

The girl's eyes lit up. "Really?"

"Yep," Roland said cheerfully.

"No," Cedric objected uncertainly.

"You'll be fine, Cedric," Roland assured him. "Baileywick will be here to help you. Come on, Sofia. We shouldn't keep your mother and siblings waiting." With that, he marched out of the room.

"But, sire," Cedric continued to protest as he followed the king down the hall. Sofia walked beside him as Baileywick followed. "My family is coming for lunch. If my father sees me ruling in your place he'll likely assume I took over the kingdom."

Roland paused as guards opened the front doors for them. "If he does, I'll send a message to Mystic Meadows later saying I volunteered you."

"But..." The sorcerer sighed. Clearly, there was no getting out of this.

"I'm glad Dad's letting you run the kingdom today." Sofia smiled up at him as they descended the front steps. "It shows he really trusts you."

"Yes. Your father is one thing. My father is a different story." He made a dramatic gesture. "Oh, Merlin's mushrooms! This is going to be a disaster."

The princess giggled. "Oh, Mr. Cedric. You worry too much." By now they had reached the flying coach. She took his hand, squeezing it reassuringly. "Everything will be just fine. You'll see." She climbed into the coach after her father, and soon it took off.

"Well, _Your Majesty_, shall we get the day started?" Baileywick asked, unrolling his scroll. He smirked when Cedric gave him a pointed look. "First, some villagers from Dunwiddie seek your audience."

...

A few hours later, the temporary king was sitting in Roland's throne staring into space. Being king was very... boring. In fact, now he was trying to figure out where he had even gotten the idea of being king so many years ago. True, it did give him the respect he had craved before Sofia came along, but this was ridiculous! All the king seemed to do was listen to people talk about their problems, sign papers, and read reports. This was _not _what he wanted to do all day. And perhaps the most irritating thing about being king was...

"Your Majesty, I have another report for you to go over," Baileywick announced, walking into the room.

Cedric had had enough. He stumped down the steps, grabbed the report, ripped it in half, and tossed the pieces aside.

"Stop calling me 'Your Majesty'!" he yelled. "And stop bringing me these blasted reports. King Roland didn't say I had to go over reports."

"Every king goes over reports," the steward said calmly. "It's part of their daily life."

"Well, _I _am** _not _**the king." He took a few deep breaths to calm himself. "My family will be here shortly."

"The kitchen staff is already preparing the meal." Baileywick checked his pocket watch. "I'll send your family here when they arrive." He turned and left the room.

Cedric sighed as he sat back in the throne. This day couldn't go any slower.

...

A short time later, Cedric was brought out of his thoughts by a little girl's voice asking, "But why would he be there instead of his tower?"

And there they were. His parents, sister, and niece walked into the throne room. They all stopped and stared at him, their amused expressions turning to shock. It took Cedric a minute to remember exactly where he was sitting.

"Why is Uncle Ceddy sitting in the king's throne?" Calista asked curiously.

"That's what I'd like to know," Goodwyn stated. He frowned, his eyes narrowing. "Cedric... You didn't..."

"No, Father." Cedric quickly stood up and walked toward them. "It's not what it looks like. King Roland wanted to spend the day with his family, so he volunteered, or rather forced, me to be king for the day."

"So you're a king now?" Calista exclaimed excitedly. "Does that make me a princess?"

Cordelia chuckled. "Oh, Calista, I don't think that's how it works."

Just then, Baileywick walked in clearing his throat. "Lunch for the temporary royal family is served in the dining room."

"Great! I am starving," the little girl cried, grabbing her uncle's hand and dragging him toward the dining room.

At the table, Goodwyn was still frowning as they were served a variety of sandwiches. Calista kept asking Cedric questions about being king.

"Oh, lighten up, Goody." Winifred patted her husband's arm. "I'm sure Ceddykins would never go back to his old schemes after all he's been through with Princess Sofia and King Roland."

"Besides, he wouldn't survive as king," Cordelia added. She smirked when her brother shot her a look. "What? I'm just saying. Kings have to deal with people, and _you_, dear brother, are not a people person."

The Royal Sorcerer just rolled his eyes before returning his attention to his niece.

Eventually, Goodwyn did lighten up, especially when Winifred conjured everyone's favorite dessert, fly cakes.

...

Late that afternoon, Cedric and Baileywick were in a flying coach on their way to Rudistan for the meeting. The meeting was with kings of other kingdoms, and Cedric had been dreading it all day. He sighed as he gazed out the window. It had been over a year since that fateful day of the Conjurers Conference at Hexley Hall when he and a few others had joined the Order of the Wand and had been given Medusa Stones to take over their kingdoms. Cedric was the only one who hadn't gone through with that plan, thanks to Sofia. He knew Grimtrix had been banished after his brief appearance in Enchancia. He also knew that the other members of the Order of the Wand, including Greylock, had all been captured and imprisoned.

As they drew closer to Rudistan's castle the sorcerer could feel himself getting increasingly nervous. What would the kings think when they saw him, a sorcerer, instead of King Roland? Would they even give him a chance to explain before having him arrested?

"It will be fine, Cedric." Baileywick seemed to sence his anxiety. "I'm sure the kings won't do anything rash when they hear King Roland had you replace him temporarily."

Cedric offered the steward a grateful look. "I hope you're right."

In the courtyard of the castle a group of kings was waiting for the Enchancian coach to arrive. Peering through the window Cedric saw a few he recognized. There were Emperor Quon and King Nasir.. And of course there was King Magnus. When the coach finally landed Cedric gulped before opening the door and stepping out.

Silence fell over the courtyard. The kings stared at him in shock and confusion. However, no one had the same reaction as King Magnus.

"Where is King Roland, Sorcerer?" he roared, glaring at him. "What have you done with the royal family?"

Cedric stumbled back, stammering, "I... uh... I..."

"It's all right, King Magnus." Baileywick lay a hand on the sorcerer's shoulder. "King Roland simply wanted to spend the day with his family, so he had Cedric replace him as king for the day."

There was a minute or quiet. Then Emperor Quon chuckled. "Oh, he did, did he?"

"Very clever," King Nasir added.

The other kings started laughing as they seemed to calm down. All except King Magnus, who kept a sharp eye on Cedric throughout the meeting.

...

That evening, the sun was just starting to set as the coach carrying the Enchancian royal family approached the castle. Cedric and Baileywick were waiting near the front steps. When the coach finally landed Roland was the first to step out.

"So how did it... Whoa!" he yelped when Cedric grabbed him by the wrist and dragged him a short distance away.

"What's wrong with Cedric?" Amber asked, baffled.

The steward chuckled as he helped Miranda out of the coach. "Oh, he just has a few words he wants to say to your father."

"Well, the castle's still standing," James observed with a grin. "What could have gone wrong?"

"I'm sure Cedric did the best he could," Miranda smiled as she and the twins went inside.

Sofia sat on the bottom step to wait for her father and mentor to finish their talk.

"Cedric, what's the matter with you?" Roland demanded, pulling his arm out of the sorcerer's grasp.

Cedric glared at the king. "Don't you _ever _do that to me again," he snarled.

Roland laughed nervously, holding up his hands. "I thought you wanted to be king..."

"Yes," the sorcerer drawled sarcastically. "Once upon a time, before I realized how boring it is. But seriously, Your Majesty. You should have seen the look on my father's face when he got here. I thought he was going to disown me then and there. And King Magnus? He wouldn't stop staring at me throughout that blasted meeting. I was sure he would have had me arrested if I'd so much as sneezed." He paused when Roland snickered. "It's not funny, King Roland. I'd rather be the Royal Sorcerer, and you can be the king."

"I'm glad you came to that conclusion," Roland said brightly. "Thank you for doing this today. I realize it wasn't something you wanted. Just know that I fully trust you. Thank you, old friend." He clapped Cedric on the shoulder before turning to go inside the castle.

For a moment, Cedric just stood there. The king trusted him. That meant a lot to him and for the first time that day he felt happy. When he moved to go inside he saw Sofia sitting on the steps waiting for him. She smiled as she stood up, taking his offered hand and going up the steps with him.

"How was your day as king, Mr. Cedric?"

"It was very... interesting, my dear. But I'm no king."

"No, you're not," she said happily as they stepped inside. "You're Cedric the Great, the most sensational sorcerer in the Ever Realm. And," she stopped and moved closer, wrapping her arms around his waist in a hug, "you're one of my most favorite people."

"Sofia..." Cedric was touched, as he always was, by her kindness. He wrapped his arms around her, returning the hug.

Yes, he would rather be a Royal Sorcerer. It was much more interesting.

A/N: Thanks for reading. This idea popped into my head, and I decided to write it because... Why not? I hope you enjoyed it.


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